Those who've bought from Dell Outlet, question

I just ordered my very first laptop! I got the Dell M1530 w/ Core 2 Duo Processor T7250, 256 video card, 250G HD, 2 gigs or RAM, and a Truelife screen for about $870 (before tax). I'm still a little bit concerned as it is a refurb, but a lot of people seem to have good luck with them, so I figure I'd give it a shot. For those who have bought a refurb, do you get all the software that you'd normally get with a new one, ie. Windows backup disc, drivers, etc.? I priced out my system and I saved quite a bit of money going refurb. What are some of your stories dealing with Dell Outlet, good, bad?

 

You do get all the same software. I also just got my 1720 from the outlet, got a helluva deal on it. Same situation you were in, was a little concerned but heard good stuff.

THUS FAR (I've only had it like a day) it seems to work very well. The only cosmetic problems are two tiny scrapes right on the hinge of the monitor where it looks like he had something that worked its way into there and scratched a straight line as he opened the monitor.

Everything else seems dandy and it seems to work just fine. With it I got a MediaDirect disk, Vista Premium disk, Microsoft Works Disk, and Dell Drivers Disk.

 

I recently bought an Outlet XPS1530 and its great. It has minor scuffs and a minor dent, but otherwise it's wonderful. Same warranty service, so you have peace of mind too!

 

Good to hear! Those were some big concerns of mine, I'm glad it's working out for you. How long did shipping take for you from the time you ordered it?

 

Same question to you too, kwest2, how long did shipping take?

 

I ordered Saturday, it shipped out Tuesday and I received it Friday.

 

My first Outlet buy (Inspiron 6000) was fine and still runs OK. (It just feels slow compared to newer PCs.) However, my first M1530 was a mess of loose panels and non-functioning parts. The replacement is much better, but the color fidelity of the screen was abysmal until I ran a Huey Pro on it. Even so, I'm not certain it's suitable for critical photo editing.

 

I ordered a 1530 on Sunday and had it by Thursday, as I recall. Mine is a refurb and everything looks like new. One of my speakers doesn't appear to work though so they're sending someone out tomorrow to replace it. Works great otherwise....and a few hundred cheaper than new!

 

I ordered it Saturday, I recieved it Wednesday. Just make sure to keep track of it through Dell and DHL...those guys are morons.

So far so good, still loving it.

 

Sounds like a quick shipping time. I'm a little perplexed as to why my confirmation email says shipping date 5/1/08?? Does that mean arrival time possibly?

 

The XPS in my signature is from the Dell Outlet and it has been flawless (save for the Samsung screen) but Dell impressed me by replacing it.
I figure since they give you 21 days to check it out you can't go too wrong with a Dell Outlet laptop. I was lucky enough to get one with no blems and yes it had all the software installed as well and came with all the CD's.

 

I wouldn't pay much attention to those things. They're really stupid. My shipping date said a week and a half after I ordered it but took like two days. They just need to locate the refurb system, but the system calculates it as if you were making a new one.

 

Yep, orderd mine on a Thursday, had it on Tuesday.

 

I called them right before I left work this evening and the same thing happened. He said they calculate it as a new system so the date is wrong. Mine shipped out today. I was worried that it would take a while to ship out thus reducing my 21 day return policy in case something went wrong. Thanks again for everyone's input, you've been most helpful!

 

I got my 1330 in my sig no problems, runs great. Only 1 hairline scratch on the palmrest and a tiny "smudge" in the red lcd cover. I ordered mine on a Saturday, Dell said it "shipped" Monday but it didn't enter the DHL system till 1130pm, DHL actually picked it up Tues and I had it on Thursday.

 

Thats good news re: shipping times Just ordered a 1730 T9300, sli 8800's for $1989!!

Quick question: Does the outlet use DHL only? Or do they also use fedex?

 

Can't say for sure but mine came via DHL and it arrived early.

 

Thanks fiveo....

 

Even if your refurb Dell has any cosmetic damage, you can replace the compromised component out-of-pocket to make the system look like new.

I own an M1710 with a T7600 Core2Duo which I bought new, but I decided to take the Dell Outlet plunge today by ordering an M1730 scratch/dent unit. The hardware specs were insane for the price I paid (just over $3k with tax + 3yr complete care):

-Core2Extreme X9000 2.8ghz CPU
-NVidia 8800m-GTX 1gig DDR3 SLI video
-4gigs RAM
-200gig 7200rpm free-fall sensor HD
-DVD-RW/BluRay ROM drive
-PC Express Card remote control
-Windows Vista Premium

The Dell sales rep told me that they don't sell any unit with any cosmetic damage larger than a quarter, usually looking virtually new in many cases. There will also be no bad screen pixels, and everything is fully warranted. I took the 3-year Complete Care / Accidental damage warranty just to be sure (My M1710 previously went through 4 LCD's with bad pixels). I was eyeing the Alienware M15X, but unfortunately Alienware doesn't have anything similar warranty-wise.

Anyway, the "new" M1730 arrives next Tuesday.

 

I still don't like the filtering system for Dell Outlet. I'm been flipping through all the laptops trying to look for a 1440x900 or so resolution, and all I see are higher or lower resolutions.

On top of that, all the Dell outlet home coupons already died, so I'm kinda stuck waiting for them to reappear or deals for new models.

EDIT: Either that or they have EIDE hard drives =|

 

Yeah, same here. I had to hover over the web page refresh button for the M1730 inventory list several days before pulling the trigger on the system I described above, even into the late morning hours. Apparently some folks run cart-bot programs whose sole job is to tie up inventory in carts until their owners can examine the catch. Fortunately Dell's cart system automatically returns all cart-inventory in 15minutes (idle) or 1-hr (non-idle). I watched the same high end M1730 system enter and exit the inventory list this past week, though no one wants to buy it due to its $4k pricetag with two solid-state drives. However, it repeatedly disappeared every time it re-entered the list, and consistently reappeared 15-60 minutes later.

 

Did it arrive earlier than the estimated delivering date provided by DHL?

 

Yes, 2 days before it was expected. Nice surprise!

 

Nice! Hopefully mine might show up early too. Did you have to sign for it?

 

Yes, I was home from work that day so it worked out well.

 

EIDE hard drives? Are you looking at older systems? All Dell's current model laptops come with SATA hard drives. If you see a 1520 or M1530 listed as having an EIDE hard drive, it's a mistake on Dell's website.

 

A TON of the even newer laptops listed on there have it listed as an EIDE hard drive.

 

It's here!!!!!!! I finally got my XPS 1530 in Midnight Blue. This laptop is gorgeous! I can't get over the condition this laptop is in for a refurb. I was shocked to see you get all the manuals, discs, and everything that would come with a brand new computer. I'm trying to test all components to make sure they all work ok, but so far so good!

 

The Vostro 1500 I ordered on Saturday just shipped today. I'll hopefully get it by Wednesdays.

 

I just got my XPS 1530 from the outlet, and it is in perfect condition. I'm highly satisfied, and I even have a screen that does not have grain. I would definitely buy again.

 

Give it a full run. After further testing and inspection I found that my battery was loose -- they're sending me a brand new one for this problem. Even if the new one is a little loose I'm not gonna care, because a new battery is a new battery.

Also my LCD was shorting out within like a week of getting my comp, causing the thing to not start up..it would just click and then power down without even loading DOS.

Solution? Sent it back to Dell...got it back within a week with a brand new screen.

Now if only my processor and video card would fail.....

 

Wroteup a brief discription of my experience here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=245078